Renee
by Tezza1502
Summary: Just a little fic about a character in the 'BtVS: Season Eight' comic book, and how she hooked up with Xander. She didn't have a back story, so I made one up. WARNING: Character Death in Chapter Five!
1. Chapter 1

RENEE

By: Tezza1502

Disclaimer: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer, BtVS: Season Eight', it's characters or it's stories do not in any way belong to me, nor do I seek or am I making any monetary profit from this fanfiction. It is Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, Dark Horse Comics, plus various other people and business entities. I also don't own any of the other copywrited series' mentioned in this fic. So there.

Notes: This one came about after I read Issue No:15 of BtVS: Season 8. There was a character in it called Renee, who was in the process of becoming Xander's girlfriend when she was killed. Being a bit of a Xander fan, I was annoyed that _yet again_, The Powers That Be (Joss and Co.) decided to keep my favourite character miserable.

As to where _this _came from, I dunno. I've been suffering through some major work-related writer's block, and this was the first thing that has come to me in ages. So I went with the flow.

(To everyone who has been waiting for an update on my 'Love Hina' stories, please be patient a bit longer. Pretty please. Writing them at the moment is akin to trying to pass a water buffalo through my sphincter, horns and all!)

I guess… I felt that she deserved a back-story. So I decided to make one up. The how's and why's of those two getting together leading up to Issue 15.

It's a little outside my usual genre. Anime is more my normal forte, along with the odd side trip into Harry Potter. Plus, it's somewhat more experimental than my other stuff. And about ninety percent of it is in the First Person Perspective. So if that annoys you, it's best if you turn back now.

Set after Issue 15 of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight'. So if you haven't read the comic, this will make absolutely _no _sense whatsoever. Be prepared, it gets kinda sad. _**Character Death. Eventually. In Chapter 5.**_

* * *

CHAPTER 1

* * *

_**SOMEWHERE ELSE…**_

"_Hey there.__"__ The young woman looked up suddenly. _

_She had been lost in thought, staring at her reflection in a small pond in the local park. Two young women were looking at her with kind expressions, and she felt the negative emotions she had been experiencing lighten slightly in response. __"__You just got in, right?__"__ The slightly taller one asked sympathetically. _

"_Um, yeah.__"__ She replied hesitantly as the others split up and took up position on either side of her. __"__I__'__m, uh, still getting the hang of things.__"_

"_Yes, it can be like that at first.__"__ The one closer to her height commented. __"__I remember being very surprised when I arrived.__"_

"_No kidding.__"__ Her companion chuckled. __"__If I recall correctly, there was a lot of screaming and foot stamping involved.__"__ She sniggered at her friends responding glare._

"_Like __**you **__were any better.__"__ The other sniffed condescendingly. __"__I believe the screech __**you **__let out is __**still **__echoing around the upper levels.__"__ Before the sniping match escalated, the sad woman asked something. _

"_Um__…__why are you talking to me?__"_

_The other two broke off their glowering contest to look at the person between them. _

"_Well we kinda heard about you, and__…"__ One started._

"…_and we figured you might want to talk about it.__After all, if anyone knows what you__'__re going through right now, it__'__d be us.__"__The other continued. "And hey, you ended up __**here**__. If you__'__d gone to the other place, you would have been stuck for eternity amongst the women who__ ha__ve tried to __**eat **__him instead.__"_

"…_oh.__"__ The woman thought about that for a while. Taking a deep breath, she began talking__…_

* * *

Hi. My name is Renee. And I'm a Slayer.

Heh, sounds like I'm standing up at an A.A. meeting, doesn't it?

Um, I'm the last of five children. (My mom wanted a girl, an' she wasn't gonna give up 'till she got one. Pity I turned out more butch than the rest of 'em combined.)

My dad's a Ranger in the U.S. Army. He's very good at what he does, so he's served in plenty of places. Which means we didn't really get to know him until I was in my teens. Kinda sucked, but hey, what can you do? We got along well enough, though, and I was never ashamed of him.

Lets see…

Other than dad being gone for months at a time, my childhood…in fact my whole _life _up until it happened was pretty standard.

I went through school, got good enough grades to score a scholarship to our local university, managed to get over my partying phase in time to not screw up my chances of graduating, had a couple of boyfriends during all this.

Y'know, normal.

Then I hit twenty-two. And for my birthday, I got an upgrade. The whole Slayer thing kicked in. I didn't find out the reason's _why _this was happening to me until about a month afterwards, when a strange red-head called Willow Rosenberg and her snooty partner appeared on my family's doorstep out of the blue. All I knew at the time was that suddenly I could _easily _beat the crap out of my brothers, and bench-press my dad. Considering that he's six foot tall, weighs one hundred kilo's and most of _that _is pure muscle an' attitude, it was a surprising development for us all.

Within a couple of weeks of that happening, me and my family were attacked by these weirdly dressed guys with stitches over their eyes. I don't know how they managed to get around like that, but it didn't really slow them down.

Unfortunately for _them_, they were picking on a family that had a proud history of serving in the armed forces. I told you about my dad already. My two oldest brothers had joined up as soon as they were able, with the other two seriously thinking about it. Plus, we had all been taking self-defence courses since we could walk. Dad wanted his kids to be able to take care of themselves when he wasn't around. And we all knew how to use guns.

Suffice to say, the ten Bringers, as I later found out they were called, didn't stand an ice cube's chance in hell against six people who were armed and willing.

It was after the police had been and gone that Willow and Kennedy turned up. After managing to convince my parents that they weren't nutters, or reporters, they set about explaining the real reasons behind why my family had just been attacked, and what was happening to me. It was a lot to take in. Still is, sometimes. I had been chosen to become a warrior of the light, to fight and kill the things that go bump in the night.

I think those two were used to being laughed at.

However, when they started going on about the nightmares, (which I hadn't told _anyone _about.) and Kennedy showed off a few moves, they started winning a few converts. Me in particular. Willow magically levitating my car helped, too.

Which, of course, led to the next question; what now?

The answer; an all expenses paid trip to Scotland to learn and adapt to my new abilities.

It was a hard decision, to be sure. And I really didn't know what I was letting myself in for. But I thought, 'If I don't like it, I'll just quit!' And if what those two were saying was true, then it needed doing. Besides, it was a free trip to the other side of the world. At least I'd get the chance to travel.

Hard to believe I was still so stupid and naive at that age.

* * *

Notes: Yep! That's it for chapter one. Short and sweet. (Heck, the whole story is only about ten thousand words long, broken up into five chapters.)

The next one will be up in a couple of days. 'Till then. T


	2. Chapter 2

RENEE

By: Tezza1502

Disclaimer: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer, BtVS: Season Eight', it's characters or it's stories do not in any way belong to me, nor do I seek or am I making any monetary profit from this fanfiction. It is Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, Dark Horse Comics, plus various other people and business entities. I also don't own any of the other copywrited series' mentioned in this fic. So there.

Notes: This is a little outside my usual genre. Anime is more my normal forte, along with the odd side trip into Harry Potter. Plus, it's somewhat more experimental than my other stuff. And about ninety percent of it is in the First Person Perspective. So if that annoys you, it's best if you turn back now.

Set after Issue 15 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. So if you haven't read the comic, this will make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Be prepared, it gets kinda sad.

CHAPTER 2

* * *

The first time I ever saw Xander Harris, I was not that impressed to be honest.

Mind you, seeing as our introduction came at the end of the mother of all long-haul flights from the good ole US of A to the land of drizzle and fog, I guess I could put it down to feeling a bit bitchy from jet-lag.

Anyway…

Willow (a Wicca) and Kennedy (an older slayer) had been escorting myself and a few other newbie slayers from the states, so we were all a bit excited to be travelling overseas for the first time. Mind you, some of us had _already _been introduced to the flipside of our new powers, so a bit of _safe _excitement was a good thing.

Landing at Heathrow, slogging our way through the nightmare that was customs, then transferring to yet _another _flight north, finally knocked the last of the 'new things' buzz out of us.

When we finally walked off a plane for the last time, we girls found ourselves wondering what sort of welcoming committee would be awaiting us. I mean, we were the new blood, so to speak. The next generation of defenders. Sure, we hadn't been in Sunnydale when it imploded after the fight with The First. But _damnit_, some of us _had _managed to survive the various attempts by the Bringers to knock us off before that! At the very least I think myself and the rest of the newbies had been expecting to be met by someone high up or important in the New Slayers Council we had been told about.

Instead, we were met by an older guy wearing faded jeans, scruffy work boots, and possibly the most offensive-to-the-eye Hawaiian shirt I have ever had the misfortune to lay my eyes upon. For the few seconds I could bring myself to look at it, I had noticed that it seemed to be made up of various shades of yellows, reds, oranges, greens and blues. Why it hadn't spontaneously combusted within ten seconds of being made, I'll never know.

While I and the rest of the newbies had been attempting to repress the memory of that horror, Willow, who in all the time she had been with us had spoken with a low, calming voice and was the epitome of serenity, let out this almighty squeal and sprinted for this guy. At first I thought she was going to try and vanquish his shirt for crimes against humanity and taste. But all she did was throw herself into his arms and let him spin her around a few times while Kennedy muttered something about this happening ever time those two didn't see each other for more than a couple of weeks. Which was kinda confusing, since Kennedy and Willow had made a point of letting us know that they were a couple.

When the rest of us caught up, Willow was speaking faster than even a slayer could follow while poking his shirt. I think she was dissing him about wearing it in a public place, while he was vigorously defending his choice of attire. Something about making it easier to spot him during a pea-soup fog, I think.

And so, Alexander Harris, (or 'Just Xander. _Please!_') was formally introduced to us while we all tried not to stare too much at his eye patch. The guy was either ultra perceptive, or we were less subtle than we thought, because he picked up on our morbid curiosity immediately and made a joke about why you shouldn't drink tea without taking the spoon out of the cup first.

It was lame, but it got us laughing enough that we were no longer awkward about being sprung staring, while Willow chided him gently for making light about his injury. Kennedy got a weird look on her face as all this was going on, but it wasn't until much later that I found out the reason why.

Oh yeah, we got told the skinny on these two as well. Apparently, Willow and Xander were best friends from back in the day. Further, even. It's kinda weird to think that Buffy Summers, The Slayer, had to work at joining _their _group, and not the other way around.

The drive back to what would become our new home for the foreseeable future was surprisingly short. Xander kept up a steady stream of current gossip, a quick rundown on what to expect when we walk through the front door, and some truly horrible puns. In between, he and Willow kept falling into this strange sort of verbal shorthand every so often, where they'd only say a few words, and the other one would either finish the sentence or start another one without missing a beat. Honestly, it was like watching twins talk.

In due time, we arrived at what was to be our home for the foreseeable future. An honest to god castle, out in the middle of nowhere. It looked like something out of a fairytale, or a Harry Potter movie. Apparently, there are castles like this all over England. Most of them look even cooler than this one, so I'm told. But hey, it was the first one this chick from America had ever laid eyes on, so sue me for being a little overawed. Heck, the rest of the newbies were just as impressed, even the ones trying to act tough.

So we scrambled out of the bus to get a better look, completely ignoring whatever the others were saying behind us. However, a name was called out that quickly got our attention.

"Hey, Buffster! Come down from your lofty perch to inspect the new recruits?"

We spun around to find ourselves being given the once over by a strangely familiar blonde. It was very weird. Since being called, I'd been having dreams about her. (And not like _**that**_, either!) Well, not just her, but a whole lot of stuff. I'd thought that I'd been going crazy at first. Then the Bringers had shown up on my parent's doorstep.

Seeing as how I'd had a few dreams about them as well, not to mention that they had tried to kill me and mine, I figured that there must be something more going on. When Willow and Kennedy had tracked me down, a couple of weeks later, I got my reason. And had immediately wished I hadn't.

They told me about the whole Slayer deal. About how they had activated every potential on the planet, all to stop something called The First. And that ever since that happened, those two had been frantically criss-crossing the globe, trying to find the new slayers. Apparently, what had happened to me was not an isolated case. The Bringers had not given up taking out slayers after the First had been stopped, so they (the good guys) were gathering them all in one place. To train us up and help us adapt to our new circumstances. Then, if we wanted to, we could join them in the fight against evil, blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda.

Honestly, I couldn't really give a rats, back then. All I wanted to do was get a handle on these new powers of mine, then head back home. The fact that I got to travel to a different country for free was a bonus.

* * *

Short.

That was my first impression of the famous Buffy Summers. And I mean really, who inflicts a name like 'Buffy' on a girl. Then again, considering that she was from California…

The next thing I noticed about her were her eyes. They kinda reminded me of the look my dad got there sometimes, when he returns from one of his overseas tours with the army. They were eyes that have seen _way _too much of the nastier things that walk the earth.

"Yo, Buffmeister! Snap out of it." The loud shirt said as it got in between us and her.

"GAAH!" The look vanished. In it's place was a horrified expression as she threw her arms in front of her face and made warding signs with them. "Damnit Xander! What have I told you about wearing that horrible thing in public?" She shrieked.

"Uh, that it makes me look very manly, and shows that I am completely comfortable with who I am as a person?" He ventured.

"No. That the next time I caught you wearing it, I would use you as my warm-up dummy before I train with the SiT's." She growled, taking a step forward.

Despite shrinking a little and beginning to sweat, the guy gamely tried to talk his way out of it. "Wow. You really want to get all hot and sweaty with me on the mats, Buffy?" Before she could retort, Xander had spun around and called out to Willow. "Hah! Pay up, Wills. I told you she couldn't resist me forever." He crowed while holding his hand out.

Honestly, watching the expressions fly across The Slayer's face right then was the funniest thing I had seen in ages. She looked shocked, flattered, infuriated, chuffed, flabbergasted and exasperated all at the same time. Finally, she seemed to settle with annoyed as she stepped up behind him and smacked him across the back of the head. "_Honestly!_" Leaving it at that, and ignoring his complaints about hitting him with slayer-strength, she shook her head and came over to us.

The guy's dress sense may totally suck, but I had to give him his due. He'd managed to avoid what seemed to be a guaranteed lesson in pain from the world's oldest Slayer with only a slap to the head.

Interesting…

* * *

Buffy presented a talk to us about what to expect here. It was kinda the same as the one Xander gave us on the way here, but a bit more boring and rehearsed. Not that any of us were game to say so to her face.

(We found out later that any of the SiT's cheeky enough to mention that fact usually ended up 'helping' her demonstrate offensive techniques for a couple of days, or until someone _else _made the same mistake.)

After that, a creepy little troll-geek called Andrew appeared out of nowhere and led us away, spouting off sci-fi monologues the whole time as a way of trying to turn the slayer biz into a showbiz metaphor. Creepy!

Seeing as it was getting dark, we were led to the dining hall first and introduced around. At the time I think there were about three hundred Slayers in residence, so we saw a lot of faces and heard a lot of names. And promptly forgot them all.

It was a buffet-style, serve yourself deal, so our little group of newbies gawked shamelessly while we got our food and retreated to our designated table. Willow and Kennedy made an appearance soon after we started eating, as did that Xander guy. Thankfully, he had changed out of his eyesore into a tee-shirt. Though maybe what he changed into wasn't such an improvement.

Being a bit of a Monty Python fan on my dad's side, I recognised the Black Knight missing his arms and legs on his shirt straight away. What got me laughing was the quote underneath:- "'Tis but a scratch."

Combined with the eye patch, I couldn't help myself. I knew it wasn't funny to lose an eye. But seeing him with _that _shirt on, grinning as he saw my reaction. I just couldn't stop myself, no matter what I tried. And when the other slayers frowned at me, I only got worse.

"_Yessss!_" He pumped a fist in the air. "Another Monty Python fan. Welcome, sister." He shouted gleefully, pointing in my direction before turning to Willow. "You gonna hang around for the next movie night, Wills? She makes eight of the slayerettes that won't roll their eyes at me when I put my faves in." He asked, pointing back at me.

"Um, sorry Xander. Kennedy and I will be heading out first thing tomorrow morning." Willow looked uncomfortable as she said that.

"Aww. But-" Xander looked like someone had just smacked him across the back of the head again. His eyes flicked from her to Buffy for a second. "Not even a couple of days this time?"

"Sorry Xand, but there's more potentials out there. And I'm the only one who can find them." She shrugged helplessly.

Xander seemed to slump a bit, before straightening up and jumping back into the conversation. I noticed that both Willow and Buffy seemed a little worried that he had shrugged away his disappointment so easily, but I dismissed it and started eating the first real meal I'd had since leaving the states. Honestly, I didn't know the guy, and it really wasn't my problem.

* * *

The next few weeks was a bit of a blur for us newbies. Getting settled, learning the ropes of our new home, discovering our respective slayer powers and skill levels, working out training schedules, finding out any other life skills we possessed that could be used in 'The Cause'.

It seems like I lucked out a bit there. My dad is an Army Ranger, and has been since before I was born. So I had a slight head start when it came to fighting skills. Plus, both he and my mom had never seen a distinction between me wanting to know how to do stuff, and my brothers. So I had a couple of other things up my sleeve.

But the thing that put me on the map at Slayer-central was the fact that I was more than a little familiar with computers and data entry. And I could type at 140 words a minute. It used to be about 100 words a minute, before.

Heh, slayer-enhanced skills. Sometimes they rock.

So, pretty early on I was drafted into working in their Operations Centre. Getting up to speed was a cinch. Patrolling was harder.

I mean, going out into the night with the express purpose of killing something was seriously mind-bending. It's so different from what we consider normal that it takes a few patrols to start to get your head around the idea. Some of us take to it better than others. For me, quite a few phone calls home to my dad were needed before I began to come around.

But, the other Slayers were good about it. They had all been through the same thing, so no-one really put us down about being a little reluctant. Any question we asked, no matter how ridiculous, was answered. And we soon figured out where to get the best answers from.

Hint: NOT Andrew Wells!!

In fact, it turned out that if we needed something explained in such a way that it wouldn't immediately fly high over our heads, Xander 'patron saint of loud shirts' Harris was your man. And not just answers. Pretty much anything we slayers needed. If he couldn't build it, repair it, find it, or fix it, he knew someone or something that could. At a reasonable price too.

Some newbies had wondered why he was there. Sure he was good for an answer, and he wasn't bad eye-candy either. But he had no paranormal abilities, or anything. He just wandered around fixing things here and there. Occasionally he attended a meeting with the big guns. But mostly he seemed to not really have a purpose for being there, other than as a handyman.

Their mistake was wondering this aloud near certain people. Namely Buffy, Willow, Giles, or any of the slayers that had been present before Sunnydale had gone bye-bye.

To this day I thank my lucky stars that I had kept my own questions on the subject quietly to myself. _Ouch!_

Yet, even after the odd ear-bashing any SiT got when they were silly enough to ask about that, (and it happened regularly after any new batch showed up, it seems.) my personal doubts weren't erased until my first time in the Op-Centre during a mission while he was in charge.

Damn!

Gone was the goofy joker with the cute lopsided grin. In his place was a controlled commander who had both the trust of _and _the trust in his charges.

He always had your back. He always had a plan for getting the field teams either into or out of trouble. When he asked one of the slayers to do something, they did it. No questions asked. Heck, the only ones who ever dared talk back to him during an operation were the Original Two, Buffy and Faith. Even then they usually ended up following his suggestions. With considerable bad grace, to be sure, but they did. I mean, he still joked and punned. But there was an underlying edge you could hear in his voice. One that said he knew what we were going through out there in the field, because he had been there himself, with a _heck _of a lot _less _backup than what _we _had available.

Only once did I ever see him lose his cool because someone wasn't following orders. The way he spoke then still gives me chills when I think about it. And I heard later that the slayer in question damn near wet herself when he dressed her down later, in private. He could be _that _scary when he wanted to be.

So yeah, any doubts a newbie had about whether he should be a part of the slayage or not vanished soon after their first time on a mission with him in command. Especially when he saved their lives because of it. Because no-one died on his watch. Not if he could help it. And if something did happen to a slayer on a mission, by God you could see the pain he went through because of it. He would do anything for us. Whatever it took to help us get a handle on our new destinies, and allow us to live as long a life as possible.

It was reassuring. And damn sexy, in a way.

In fact, I soon noticed that most of the girls that weren't batting for the other team had huge crushes on him. It seemed to wax and wane, but at any one time at least a dozen of my sister slayers were nursing romantic (or just plain sweaty) feelings for him.

Which made it all the more confusing when he never took up any of the offers sent his way. And there were some tempting ones. Heck, I'm as straight as they come, and _I_ was panting after seeing some of those girls strut their stuff for him.

For a guy it would have been like shooting fish in a barrel. Several hundred young, hot, horny women in a secluded castle in the middle of nowhere, and just three males.

One was Rupert Giles. So unless you had a daddy-kink thing going, he was out.

Another was Andrew Wells. 'Nuff said.

So really, it would be perfectly understandable. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's in possession of the tightest buns in the northern hemisphere. At all. Really.

But, he never took any of them up on their offers.

There were various rumours floating around as to why. Most of them containing the idea that he might be gay.

It wasn't until I did a long mission with Faith that I discovered a reason. Possibly _the _reason.


	3. Chapter 3

RENEE

Disclaimer: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer, BtVS: Season Eight', it's characters or it's stories do not in any way belong to me, nor do I seek or am I making any monetary profit from this FanFiction. It is Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, Dark Horse Comics, plus various other people and business entities. I also don't own any of the other copywrited series' mentioned in this fic. So there.

Notes: This is a little outside my usual genre. Anime is more my normal forte, along with the odd side trip into Harry Potter. Plus, it's somewhat more experimental than my other stuff. And about ninety percent of it is in the First Person Perspective. So if that annoys you, it's best if you turn back now.

Set after Issue 15 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. So if you haven't read the comic, this will make absolutely _no_ sense whatsoever.

CHAPTER 3

* * *

A few months after I had first arrived, I'd been assigned to Faith for a couple of weeks as part of me getting up some field experience. Normally, 'The Dark Slayer' didn't partner with newbies. At all. (It seemed to be a mutual thing between her and the rest of the council.) But I got the feeling that due to the fact that I was an army brat, she'd decided to take me under her wing for a bit. While she never actually came out and directly admitted it, my personal thought was that she seemed to have a soft spot for slayers who had one or more parents in the military. I guess whoever _her_ parents were, at least one of them was in the armed forces at one point. But that was just a guess. Her past was _firmly_ off limits to discussion.

In any case…

We'd been doing a workup on a large pack of vamps just outside the city. Y'know, getting a handle on their habits and routines so we could figure out the best way to dust them without getting ourselves hurt. Pretty standard, really. We'd been returning to the local chapter house, when out of the blue she suddenly started asking about Xander. Just general stuff, y'know, like what's he up to, how's he looking, is he seeing anyone. That kind of thing.

Now, I'd heard that she and Xander shared a history, but no-one really knew what it was. Even the ex-potentials from the Sunnydale crew. And those who _were _in the know just _did not __talk _about it. Ever!

So I'm thinking to myself, _'__Kewl! Maybe I__'__ll get the straight dope, direct from the source.__'_

…sometimes, it's better to live in ignorance.

I'd just given her a rundown on what she asked, when I decided to throw in the fact that he doesn't take advantage of the prime offers available, as well as some of the rumours floating around as to why.

Faith's reaction was weird, to say the least. First she burst out laughing when I mentioned the rumour that Xander might be gay. Then she started crying a little. Which freaked me out a lot. I mean, I'd heard the rumours about _her _before I'd left Scotland, too. Tough as nails. Spent some time inside for murder. The only Slayer capable of laying a smack down on Buffy Summers. And now she's spazzing over the idea that Xander's possibly not straight. Wassup with that!

When she'd tapered off, she looked me dead in the eye and told me that if I _ever _repeated what she was about to say to _anyone_, my life would last only as long as it took her to hunt me down.

With this warning coming from someone who had killed humans before, (and, if the grapevine was accurate, was sometimes deployed to take care of the councils dirty laundry) I gulped, and solemnly vowed that my lips were sealed 'till the day I died.

Faith stared at me for a few minutes more, as if weighing up my sincerity, then told me the story of the two times she was alone with Xander Harris.

Hearing about the fact that she had slept with him once after he had saved her life, I was wondering about the whole 'need for secrecy' thing. And maybe a little curious about his performance.

When she whispered that she had nearly strangled him to death for trying to save her from the dark side however, I almost felt like taking a swing at her myself. How the fuck could she do something like that? What possible reason could there be? And to _him_? The nicest guy I'd ever met!

Some, well, _most _of what I was feeling must have shown on my face, because she said sarcastically that she gets that reaction a lot.

Sticking my chin out, I asked why she'd done that to him. Was there a reason.

Turns out there was. Just not a good one.

"'Cause I was in a bad place, back then." She admitted slowly. "I was hurting, and I wanted to share that hurt. With whoever was stupid enough to get close enough to let me." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I can't believe I'm telling you this shit." She sighed. "Guess it's true what they say. Sharing can be good for the soul." Then she gave me a sidelong glance. "He's gotten under your skin too, hasn't he?" She asked, already guessing the answer. Ignoring my sputtering denials, she continued talking. "Some free advice from someone who's already let him slip away; Be His Friend. His ex-fiancé died in Sunnydale during the big one. And from the sounds of it, he's still hurting because of that. So, if you ever want to be anything more to him than just another one of 'his girls', be his friend first. Because right now, he needs _that _more than a quick roll in the hay. Which, because of me I guess, he's never really been one for anyway." Faith looked sad about that. Fair enough, I suppose.

(And if the other's knew that she was a big part of the reason that they weren't getting any action from him, well, I could understand why she doesn't want this to become common knowledge. _I_ wouldn't want to face a large horde of horny, frustrated slayers either.)

Besides, I wasn't interested in Xander like that. I was just…curious.

"Yeah right! You could fertilize Texas with that BS, girlfriend."

Oh crap. I said that out loud, didn't I?

* * *

So, with another piece of the puzzle that was Xander Harris in hand, I returned to the castle feeling conflicted. I'd gone out into the field wanting to get some slayer-hours under my belt. Faith's declaration that I was jonesing for my immediate superior was a bit more than I had bargained for. So, I did what most people in my situation usually do.

I ignored the whole situation for a while. It was surprisingly easy to do actually. What with Buffy's sister, Dawn showing up an' all.

Of course, it helped that Dawn was the size of a small building when she arrived. Literally. Somehow, she'd been turned into a giantess. Kinda captures your complete attention, that. Which brought to light another fact that had sort of escaped everyone's notice until then; Willow Rosenberg had not been anywhere near the castle in quite a few months.

This was finally realised when we couldn't contact her, or Kennedy, and had to use our other Wicca's to magically transport Dawn from Berkeley to Scotland. In fact, I think that the group of newbies that I came in with were the last ones she had delivered personally. After us, they just turned up without an escort. Or with the nearest available fully-trained slayer accompanying them.

After a _lot _of digging by Xander and Giles, we pieced together that those two were flitting around the world almost at random. And we only got _that _much because of that group…sorry, _coven _of Wicca's in Devon. (They don't like being called a group. And under no circumstances should you even think of calling them witches. They tend to get a bit upset. And I like my body the shape and form it's in now, thankyewverymuch!) Willow was apparently hunting out knowledge, while her girlfriend was playing escort/bodyguard. And they were being extremely cagey about the whole thing. To the point of vanishing without a trace for weeks at a time.

So, the Council decided to give her some space to do it, and not pursue them. Besides, who knew how she'd react to being asked/ordered to report in. The last thing anyone'd want is a pissed-off Wicca at her power level getting snarky at them. And according to the grapevine, the last time Willow went off the deep end, the _world _nearly ended! So yeah, giving her some space was probably a good idea.

Oddly enough, things actually went quiet after Buffy's 'little' sister arrived. Well, as quiet as it usually gets anyway. Missions happened. Slayers died, and more were discovered and recruited. We started recruiting more mystics as well as slayers. (With Willow having gone to ground, we needed to.) Buffy and Dawn got into some truly memorable shouting matches with each other. (Some days I'm glad I only had older brothers, if these two were any indication of what having a sister would be like.) And I quietly set about following Faith's advice.

Yeah, I _finally_ admitted to myself that he was a hottie. So I just watched him for a while, at first. (Watching a Watcher. Kinda funny in a way.) (Though he never calls himself that. A Watcher, I mean. Dunno why, he definitely qualifies. Something else to find out, I s'pose.) I'd greet him whenever we crossed paths around the castle. I became a regular at his movie nights, no matter what he was trying to push on us.

It wasn't _that _bad. Really. Most of them were pretty good. The Princess Bride was as funny as hell. The Monty Python marathons were always great. Although The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a bit too mind-bending. And those crappy B-graders from the eighties were so bad, they were hilarious. Especially the ones with Arnie in them! Heck, I even started to appreciate science fiction a bit more. (And I'm afraid that I have to agree with Xander, Babylon 5 kicks the crap out of DS9.)

Whenever I was on duty in the Op-Centre with him, I bantered with him a little more than I used to. Nothing simpering, or (I hope) too obvious. Just talking with him during the lulls. Occasionally, after a shift, we'd go and eat something in the commissary. Just as friends and co-workers unwinding after a gruelling shift, of course. Strictly platonic. He didn't give out too much, and I didn't pressure him to, either. Didn't stop me from talking about my own family. Although, I think that I might have gone on about them a bit. After an uninterrupted half hour discourse on my brothers' annoying habits, I realised that I might be babbling about a group of people he had no interest in. It was funny though. When I tried to apologise, he just waved it off. He got that I was a little homesick. And he said it was nice that I had a family to be homesick for.

When he said that, he had such a sad look on his face for a second. Like he's never had anything like that in his life before. So I kinda did something stupid without thinking about it first.

I hugged him.

…

Like I said, something stupid.

I don't think he actually took one breath the entire time I had my arms around him. When I stepped back, I took one look at the shock on his face, and did a runner.

It was so _stupid _of me! I know.

But he looked so hurt and alone and lonely that I couldn't help myself.

I don't know how I managed to find my way back to my room, but I did. Gwen, my roomie, was a bit annoyed that I woke her up at two in the morning. But she got over it when she saw me crying, bless her. I'd barely calmed down enough to start talking about it when someone knocked at the door.

"Gwen! Is Renee in there?"

Ah crap!

"Open up battleaxe. I need to have a conversation with your roommate."

Double crap! He's using the voice. The one that says he's annoyed about something. An' three guesses what!

Gwen gives me an apologetic look as she goes to unlock our door. "Sorry Ren, but he sounds pissed. And I don't need any of _that _action." Opening it up slightly, she peers through the crack. "'Sup, Mister Harris?"

I could just make out a chocolate brown eye peering through the gap. "First of all, stop calling me _Mister _Harris." He growls. "It makes me think that my father is around, and believe me that's the last thing you'd ever want!" He glares at Gwen until she gulps and nods. "Second; can you give me a few minutes with Renee? We need to talk."

"I-I don't think so, Mist… Xander." Wow, my roomie actually managed to hold her ground. I'm impressed.

I hear Xander sigh. "Look, I'm not going to hurt her. I just want to have a chat with her. That's all."

"You promise?" Gwen asked in a small voice. That-a-girl, Gwennie! Hit 'im with the kicked-puppy eyes.

"I promise." Gwen stepped aside and opened the door. Xander stayed outside for a moment with an expectant look on his face. "Privately, please."

Looking back at me, I nodded at her to go on. After she walked out, Xander came inside and shut the door. "So…"

"So…"

"About before?"

"I'm sorry about that." I blurted out quickly.

"Huh?"

"I didn't mean to hug you."

"Hey!"

"It's just…you looked so sad just then, and I reacted without thinking. I didn't mean to embarrass you, or anything. I just wanted to…hug you. 'Cause you looked like you needed one." Yup, keep digging that hole deeper, Renee!

"…thank you." He whispered.

"Huh?!" Did he just-?

"It's been a while since anyone's bothered to notice how I'm feeling. Thank you."

"But, what about your friends?"

"Hah! Buffy's busy being the Slayer, Dawn's got her own pretty big issues to deal with right now, Willow's vanished, and Giles is busy either training or ironing the kinks out of the council. They're pretty much it." He sits on the end of my bed and sighs. "Besides, they're busy dealing with their stuff, I can't ask them to deal with my crap too."

As he's sitting there, running his hands through his hair, I'd wondered if anyone's ever seen this side of him before. I mean, he's had slayers lusting after him before. But, have any of them really watched him like I had been? Here's a guy that not only has no extra powers in a world filled with them, but basically runs this castle, runs the missions, looks after several hundred slayers and plays a big part in keeping the head slayer grounded. All on his own.

"Would you like another one?" Damnit! Once again, my body had acted without any sort of rational thought getting a say.

He looked up at me sharply. "Say what?"

Ah well, I was committed now. "Would you like another friend? Me, that is. Just to talk to about this stuff." Starting to squirm horribly at having said anything, I'd pressed on through the continuing silence. "After all, I'm kinda in the know about most of it anyway. And I won't breathe a word to anyone. I promise." By now I think the glow from me blushing would have been easily spotted through the window.

Xander just stared at me. I felt like he'd pulled my soul out and was staring at it from every angle, hunting for any lies. (Oh gross, that is way to vivid a thought to have in our line of work!)

"…okay."

"Really?!"

"Yes, really." He'd gotten that goofy grin in place again. I swear, does he even _know _what effect that grin has on us girls. It's so…cute and sexy and nice.

"_Ulf!!_"

"Oops." Damn, there goes my body reacting again. Still, at least this time he hugged me back.


	4. Chapter 4

RENEE

By: Tezza1502

Disclaimer: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer, BtVS: Season Eight', it's characters or it's stories do not in any way belong to me, nor do I seek or am I making any monetary profit from this fanfiction. It is © Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, Dark Horse Comics, plus various other people and business entities. I also don't own any of the other copywrited series' mentioned in this fic. So there.

Notes: This is a little outside my usual genre. Anime is more my normal forte, along with the odd side trip into Harry Potter. Plus, it's somewhat more experimental than my other stuff. And about ninety percent of it is in the First Person Perspective. So if that annoys you, it's best if you turn back now.

And from this chapter on, it starts to be more about what appeared in the comic series. Not _exactly_, mind you, just my personal spin on what was happening in between panels.

Set after Issue 15 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. So if you haven't read the comic, this will make absolutely _no _sense whatsoever.

CHAPTER 4

* * *

After that night, Xander and I slowly started becoming better friends. Nothing spoken, but we became closer. A couple of the others noticed, but no-one really said anything about it. I was honestly surprised that the other slayers had stepped back like they did, but no less grateful. Maybe they figured that since I had somehow managed to crack his shell where they couldn't, I'd earned a free run at him. Who knows. I certainly wasn't going to jinx it by drawing attention to it. Having said _that_, a couple of the girls _did_ try to flirt with him a bit more, just for the heck of it.

Heh. It's funny what injuries can happen on the training mats, isn't it.

Then came the mission to an abandoned monastery. Two humans dead. Three demons soon after. And that strange symbol the victims had carved onto their chests. That seemed to be the starters gun for a new level of weird stuff. I.E.: zombie Scots climbing the walls and attacking us, for a start.

That was freaky. Especially since we basically had to hack them into small pieces to put them down. Man that was a shitfight and a half. We lost some good girls on that one. I even copped a rusty cutlass to the back.

It finally got sorted out when Willow showed up to take down the Wicca who was responsible for the attack on the castle. She waltzed in out of nowhere and changed the rampaging zombie Scotsmen into waltzing zombie Scotsmen.

(And people say _my_ sense of humor's weird!)

After I was patched up, I curled up in a corner for a while. Running the battle over in my mind. Trying to figure out what I could have done different. Damnit, I should have done more. I don't now what, but something. _Anything!_

Basically, just sulking and feeling sorry for myself.

That's when he found me. Xander, that is.

I was a mess, I was _covered_ in blood and bandages and there were zombie flakes all over me, oh my god my _shirt _was missing somewhere, what's he gonna say what's he think of me now that I'd screwed up so badly-

-and there he was, trying to get me out of my funk and cheer me up a little.

Actually, he went off on this weird, rambling monologue first. After he got me paying attention to him, _then _he set about letting me know that I'd actually done a good job, and that I should be proud that I'd held the line like I did.

Oh damn, Xander actually thought that I'd done a good job out there. He was actually proud of me!

I think it was then that I _really _started to fall heavily for him.

* * *

Well, after that mess, we found out who was behind it, and went and kicked their collective asses. Turns out a hidden section of the American Military was behind it. Sometimes, I'm not so proud of my countrymen. Word is, they think of us Slayers as being terrorists.

Oh joy, yet another problem to deal with in the future.

Back in slayer-land, I decided to up the ante a little between me and Xander by asking him to be my sparring partner. I mean, it has to mean _something _that he went looking for me after that battle, and only me. None of the _others _got an impromptu pep talk. So, I figured it was time to get all hot and sweaty on the mats, as it were.

It went well.

I mean, I didn't _mean _to toss him over my shoulder and sprain his back in the first five minutes. Really! It just happened that way.

The big baby wouldn't even let me carry him down to the medical bay. Something about 'retaining a minute shred of masculinity in an ocean of oestrogen,' I think. Wrapping an arm around his chest was, however, perfectly acceptable.

* * *

Faith is gone.

Not 'dead' gone, just 'adios' gone. Apparently, Giles had her doing some wetworks for him, and Buffy got wind of it. She didn't react well to the news. And since I didn't want her taking her bad mood out on me just because I'd spent some time with Faith, I'd made myself scarce. Or so I'd thought.

"Renee? Can I have a minute?"

Damn. And here I thought no-one came up to the eastern tower.

"So, what's what?" She asked as she hopped up on the battlements and kicked her legs over the side.

I hate California-speak. "Nothing. Why?"

"I just haven't seen you in the Op-Centre for the past week." She looks at me slyly. "I think Xander's getting withdrawal symptoms."

Huh! "But we talked just…" Oh damn, the cats out of the bag.

Buffy of course, got giddy at the thought of confirming some vague gossip. "I _knew _it! You guys are dating, aren't you."

While I doubt that Buffy Summers The Vampire Slayer is easily intimidated by just a glare, I tried my best. "No, we aren't."

Well, that popped her balloon. "You aren't? But I thought-"

"I can't believe that I'm actually going to talk to you of all people about this, but…" I took a deep breath, and prayed that Xander wouldn't hate me too much for spilling the beans to one of his best friends. "There is something between us. At the moment, it's pretty vague. But it's there. We both feel it."

"So what's the prob?"

"You tell me, Buffy. You know every bad thing that's happened to him before now. You tell me what's holding him back!" I was almost shouting at her by then. "It's so damn frustrating. I know he lost someone important to him in the final battle of Sunnydale. And I know that Faith hurt him, too."

That got her attention. "Huh! How-?"

"She told me. I don't know why."

We both fell silent for a while.

"Can I say something?"

Now what. "Sure."

"Don't give up on him."

Okay, pretty much near the _last_ thing I was expecting.

"You've been good for him. He's more open than he's ever been since he lost Anya."

"You've got that right. I can really see the difference in him since the last time I was here."

Guhwhatdahellwhere'dshecomefrom!!

"Hi Wills." Buffy says, calm as can be. Like it's _normal _for a twenty-something Wicca to be floating in mid-air three metres away from a battlement, high on a castle.

"Hey. You giving out best friend warnings?" She smiled at me as I picked myself up off the stone floor.

Buffy shook her head. "Nah. Xander's all grown up now. Besides, he'd just ignore us if we tried. You know how stubborn he can be."

"Look who's talking." I heard Willow whisper under her breath. I was close enough to hear it, but I doubted Buffy had.

"Back at'cha Red." Or not. "I was just wondering why Renee had been avoiding me. That's all."

Willow had pondered that. For all of a second. "Probably because she's done a bit of field work with Faith, and you've got the snarks with our dark slayer right now." Ignoring Buffy's scowl, Willow floated onto the battlement in between us. "So, I'm guessing that she didn't want you taking it out on her."

"I wouldn't do that!" She sputtered indignantly.

"Uh-huh." Willow countered sarcastically. "So why have the _other _slayers who did time with Faith scarpered for their own hiding places as well?"

"Um…" Buffy had the grace to blush. "Am I _really_ that bad?"

"Do you _really_ want an honest answer?" Not waiting for a reply, Willow turned to me. "So, ya had Xander-smooches yet?"

Oh great. Time for a grilling.

* * *

It didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would be, being cornered and interrogated err…having a civilised conversation with those two. I even managed to find out a couple of his more embarrassing moments from the 'Dale.

Despite Buffy being a bit crabby that I don't hold the same attitude to Faith as her, we still got along after our little bonding moment. The same with Willow after a couple of dire threats about calling her Miss Rosenberg while I'm on the clock.

It was weird, knowing that because I'm helping bring back the Xander that these two knew and missed, I was starting to become a part of their inner circle. And I even got a matching uniform, courtesy of one of them. The same style as Xander's, in fact.

...my money's on the Slayer coming up with that idea. She strikes me as someone who used to like dressing people up in costumes on Halloween.

* * *

The whispers have started.

To be expected really, (both Buffy and Willow are incurable gossips, I'd found.) but annoying nonetheless. Luckily for me, a rumour even juicier has been doing the rounds lately. About Satsu and Buffy, of all people. I think I'll wait for proof on that one.


	5. Chapter 5

RENEE

By: Tezza1502

Disclaimer: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer, BtVS: Season Eight', it's characters or it's stories do not in any way belong to me, nor do I seek or am I making any monetary profit from this fanfiction. It is © Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, Dark Horse Comics, plus various other people and business entities. I also don't own any of the other copywrited series' mentioned in this fic. So there.

Notes: This is a little outside my usual genre. Anime is more my normal forte, along with the odd side trip into Harry Potter. Plus, it's somewhat more experimental than my other stuff. And about ninety percent of it is in the First Person Perspective. So if that annoys you, it's best if you turn back now.

Set after Issue 15 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. So if you haven't read the comic, this will make absolutely _no _sense whatsoever. Be prepared, _**Character Death Inside.**_

CHAPTER 5

* * *

My turn at sentry duty came up again. I'd really hoped it would not suck as much as the last time.

To my surprise, Xander joined me. At first I thought he was out there to keep an eye on me. Y'know, after my last screw up.

But when he kept talking about everyday stuff, things that we usually talked about over a coffee, some light yet slightly nervous bantering from him, I finally got it.

He was out here on a cold night, spending time with _me_. Alone. Just the two of us. Privately. With no-one else around. Him, me, and the mysterious pack of wolves/panthers watching us from the tree line. So, once again I got swept up in the moment and spoke before thinking.

I asked him out. Or rather, asked him to ask _me _out.

...

Holy crap, it worked! He asked me out!!

Now we just have to deal with the wolves. Or panthers. Or whatever they were.

* * *

SINCE WHEN DO VAMPIRES TURN INTO WOLVES! OR MIST! OR BEES!

SERIOUSLY! SINCE WHEN?

Oh yeah, The Scythe, the one that all our powers came from, was stolen by these…things.

And Buffy _was _sleeping with Satsu.

* * *

I didn't know Xander could fly a helicopter.

When I asked him, all he said was something about being taught by the guy we were going to see now. Then he got weird, spouting stuff about how I should be on my guard, and that he would probably start acting 'wonky' around the person we were flying to meet.

…

Oh boy, he wasn't kidding.

What the hell did this guy do to Xander to have him acting so…whipped? The creep sounded like an old drama queen, the way he was carrying on with Xander. And where does the freak get off calling me a moor, an' all that other crap. Honestly, I was about two seconds away from kicking his ass when I found out his name.

Dracula.

Double crap. I thought this guy was a myth?

So, after a lot of dramatic gesturing, the vamp told us a sob story about getting tricked out of his powers by a bunch of Asian Vamps.

Boo.

Hoo.

Then came a melodramatic speech about how we slayers are the scum of the universe, yadda yadda yadda, and how he was only coming along to avenge himself 'cause they stole his powers. Cry me a river.

* * *

I am _never _getting into _any _form of transport with those two _ever again_. Between Dracula's moaning and blatant sympathy-seeking, and Xander's simpering, it was the flight from hell. In fact, I think they send people _from _hell here, just so's they know not to complain about their good fortune.

…I can't believe I'm in Japan. Wish it was under better circumstances. I wonder if Xander and I could wangle some leave after the mission?

* * *

Who knew Xander was a closet perv. I mean _really_, getting me to dress up as a school girl so I could play at being bait to capture one of these vamps. The look on his face when I twirled the skirt almost too high was worth it, though.

* * *

You have got to be fucking kidding me! Those bastard vamps want to reverse the slayer spell? This is so far from not good. What if they succeed? Will Xander still want me when I'm not so special?

* * *

I felt a little stupid later on, as well as pissed off.

Here I am, worried over whether Xander would drop me if I wasn't a slayer, and he's babbling about second dates. I get where he's coming from, with the awkwardness of first dates an' all. But calling the biggest mission the councils ever done, with hundreds of slayers involved, our _first date wa_s a bit much.

I was _so _looking forward to holding this over his head for the rest of time.

However, I did make use of the opening he gave me. Time for some Xander-smooches.

….damn, but he's _good _at kissing. I wonder who I have to thank for that?

* * *

I can't believe they transported Dawn over to Japan to act as a distraction.

Still, the looks on those vamps faces when she'd started rampaging around Tokyo was priceless.

With Dawnie doing her thing, our little group snuck in the back door. A _lot _of stairs later, and we burst out into the room containing our bad guy. It was weird. All he was doing was watching the street with the Scythe over his shoulder.

Then both Buffy and Willow shouted something at the same time. It was really confusing.

All of a sudden, blood splashed across Xander's face. I was so worried, I thought he'd been hurt for a moment. Then he wiped it away and I was so relieved. It wasn't his.

So whose was it? And where did it come from?

About then, I felt a tugging sensation coming from my chest. So I looked down. And saw something poking out, like out of that 'Alien' movie Xander showed us one night.

_Holy shit! What the fuck is that!_

Is-is that the Scythe? How'd it get there? What's it doing there? Who's holding on to it?

_Unh!_ Where'd it go?

oh no

One of them had gotten behind me.

* * *

**_ELSEWHERE..._**

"_The last thing I remember seeing is Xander__'__s crying face running towards me as I tumbled to the floor. Then I died. And then I was here.__"_

_Running out of words, Renee slumped forward and put her head in her hands while letting some fresh tears escape. Sobbing softly, she barely felt the two arms that snaked over her shoulders and squeezed lightly.They stayed that way for a long time._

"_There there. This will pass." The blonde offered in her usual blunt manner. "The faster you get over it, the easier it will be for you up here.__"_

_The brunette looked across the weeping slayer sandwiched between them and glowered at her friend. __"__Are you ever likely to learn the meaning of the word tact?__"__ She snapped._

"_I will if you will.__"__ Came the reply._

"_No time soon, then.__"_

_Despite herself, Renee let out the smallest of chuckles at her newfound friends behaviour. __"__Are you guys always like this?__"_

_They both shrugged. __"__Most of the time.__"_

"_You still haven__'__t told me why you__'__re listening to me.__"__ She asked, wiping away her tears as best she could._

_The brunette sighed. __"__We meant it when we said that we know what you__'__re going through right now.__"_

_The blonde nodded in agreement. __"__She dated Xander when she was in high school. He was her first love. In fact, he was pretty much her only love, before she died.__"_

_The brunette nodded sadly when Renee turned to her to confirm this. __"__Come to think of it, he was your only love as well while you were down there, wasn__'__t he.__"_

"_Yeah.__"__ The blonde__'__s eyes glazed over at the memory of some of that lovin__'__._

_Renee__'__s eyes flew wide open at that. __"__Oh my God! You two are Cordelia and Anya, aren__'__t you?__"_

"_Guilty as charged.__"__ Anya grinned, snapping out of her trip down past orgasms._

"_Present.__"__ Cordelia smirked. __"__Took ya long enough, though.__"_

"_Yeah well, still a bit traumatised here.__"__ She answered with the ghost of a smile. __"__So, is this like a meeting of Xanders anonymous?__"_

"_Could be.__"__ Anya thought aloud. __"__I__'__ve definitely been suffering Xander withdrawal since I__'__ve been up here.__"__ She sighed as her eyes once again lost focus._

_Cordelia reached over and smacked the former vengeance demon over the back of the head. __"__Don__'__t you dare!__"__ She demanded sternly. Noticing Renee__'__s confused look, Cordelia explained, __"__Anya is the only one of us currently up here to have actually taken Xander for a ride in the sack. Unless you derail her early, she__'__ll go on and on, in __**graphic **__detail, about what he could and would do for her in the bedroom. And wherever else she could con him into.__"_

"_Your just jealous that you never found out what a Viking in the sack he was when you had the chance.__"__ Anya sniffed. __"__I__'__ll bet if you had, he wouldn__'__t have ever considered chasing after that red-headed hussy and her pouty lips.__"__ She growled, even now a little envious of the hold Willow Rosenberg could exert over __**her **__Xander. _

"_Yeah yeah, water under the bridge.__"__ Cordelia admitted, having healed that scar on her heart long ago. _

"_Um__…"__ The two women refocused their attention on the third woman still between them. __"__Could__…__could you tell me what he was like back then.__"__ Renee asked shyly. __"__He never really talked about what he was like when he was younger, and I didn__'__t really get the chance to find out much from Buffy and Willow.__"__ She shrugged._

_Anya and Cordelia looked at each other, smiling devilishly._

"_Sure.__"__ The blonde stood and extended an hand to Renee._

"_Why not.__"__ The brunette did the same. __"__After all, he won__'__t be up here for a while. So we__'__ve got all the time in the world.__"_

_Lifting her to her feet, they led her away from the pond, and on into the future._

"_Lemme tell you about this one time, when he went undercover on the school swim team__…"__ Cordelia winked._

_Anya bounced up and down excitedly. __"__Oohhhh, the Xander-in-the-red-speedo__'__s story! I __**love **__that one__…"_

* * *

_**THE END**_

* * *

Notes: Well, that's it. My first foray into the Buffy-verse. Pretty pathetic, I know. (And the review count is baring this notion out solidly.) Nor is it an example of my best writing. But, once the idea had settled in my head, I had to get it out. Hope it didn't suck _too_ much.

Read & Review kids! T


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